The Long Island Committee for Soviet Jewry reported today that George Sokiriansky has been given permission by Soviet authorities to emigrate to Israel, Sokiriansky, who applied for permission to emigrate in 1973, was refused then and several times since. An electrical engineer by profession, he has been working as a movie projectionist after being fired from his job.
His 86-old-year father, Abraham Sokiriansky, defected from the Soviet Union in 1946 and is now residing in Israel. George was told that he would never be allowed to emigrate because of his father’s defection.
George was born in Poland and placed in a Soviet camp for re-education at the age of seven because his father had deserted from the Red Army. He was jailed during 1968-71 for speaking to foreign tourists. As part of the Soviet campaign of harassment, Goerge was devisioned in October, 1974 and sentenced to 10 days in jail. No charges were made against him at the time. The LICSJ also reported that his wife, who is not Jewish, and their 15-year-old daughter, Elena have also been granted permission to emigrate.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
